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Era in Cowie
These photographs shine a light on school life in Cowie during the 1930s.
They were submitted to the Observer by Lynne Gregory from Bannockburn.
All but one were taken at Cowie School and are from the album of Lynne’s late great-aunt Grace McWhirter, a teacher in the village before becoming youth organiser for Stirlingshire.
Miss McWhirter is pictured in the centre of the gala day photograph, wearing a hat and dark coat, and is the teacher in the other photographs.
Born in Paisley, she moved to Riverside, Stirling as a teenager with her family and lived there for the rest of her life. Lynne said her great aunt, who died in her late 80s a couple of years ago after a spell in Fairview Nursing Home, Bannockburn, was a “chain-smoking force to be reckoned with”.
“She worked in Viewforth as a youth organiser and was active with twinning arrangements, particularly the link with Odenwald, Germany. She spoke German, had German visitors and climbed the Eiger with photos to prove it.”